Into the Unknown (Idina Menzel and Aurora song)
| format = | recorded = 2019 | studio = | genre = | length = 3:14 | label = Walt Disney, School Boy, Decca | writer = | composer = | lyricist = | producer = | chronology = Idina Menzel singles | prev_title = Small World | prev_year = 2017 | title = | next_title = | next_year = | misc = | type = single | header = Music video (film sequence) }} }} "Into the Unknown" is a song recorded by Idina Menzel and Aurora from the 2019 Warner Bros. film Frozen II, with music and lyrics composed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez and produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Glen Ballard, Germaine Franco and David Foster. The song received Academy Award, Critics' Choice Movie Award, Golden Globe Award and Satellite Award nominations for Best Original Song, but lost to (I'm Gonna) Love Me Again from Rocketman. Production Anderson-Lopez and Lopez, who wrote the songs for the 2013 animated film Frozen, reprised their roles for the sequel Frozen II. They also helped develop the story alongside Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Seth Grahame-Smith, Marc E. Smith, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. Once a foundation for the story emerged, Anderson-Lopez and Lopez marked out points where songs would be used to moved the story forward. The pair needed a song for a major moment for Elsa. Initially, the pair wrote a song called "I Seek the Truth" for the moment. At this point, the concept of Elsa hearing and following a mysterious voice had not been conceived yet. When this plot point was developed, the pair went back to the scene and wrote "Into the Unknown". Menzel first sang the song in her dressing room backstage at an off-Broadway play, with Anderson-Lopez and Lopez bringing in a keyboard to provide the music. Context |sign=Clark Spencer, president of Disney Animation Studios|source=''Los Angeles Times''}} The song is Elsa's "flagship number", and prominently features a siren call that serves as the film's musical motif that Christophe Beck weaves throughout the film score. The call is derived from the Dies irae, but is delivered in a manner inspired by Scandinavian kulning. Within the narrative of the film, the song details Elsa's inner conflict over deciding whether or not to leave Arendelle and track down the source of a mysterious voice she keeps hearing. International versions On its theater release, the movie numbered 47 dubbings worldwide, with the song Into the Unknown counting 46 versions overall: Charlotte Hervieux's recording of the song was used in both French versions released in Europe and Canada, although the rest of the dubbings were independent. Among the dubbings released, a version in Tamil, Telugu and Northern Sami was recorded for the sequel, even though the first movie has never been dubbed into these languages. As it happened in Moana with a Tahitian, Māori and Hawaiian version, the Sami version was an exceptional dubbing made specifically for the movie, given the inspiration it took from Sami culture. As was done for Frozen, Dutch musical actress Willemijn Verkaik sang both for the Dutch and German-language version, while Spanish singer Gisela performed both the Catalan and European Spanish version. On December 13, a multi-language video of the song featuring 29 of the 47 existing versions was published on Warner BRos.' Vevo channel. On February 7, 2020 it was announced that Idina Menzel will be performing the song at the Academy Awards ceremony on February 9 together with singer AURORA and 9 of Elsa's international performers: Maria Lucia Heiberg Rosenberg (Danish), Willemjin Verkaik (Dutch and German), Takako Matsu (Japanese), Carmen Sarahí (Latin American Spanish), Lisa Stokke (Norwegian), Katarzyna Łaska (Polish), Anna Buturlina (Russian), Gisela (Catalan and European Spanish) and Gam Wichayanee (Thai). Reception Critical Reception The song was presented to the public as the "Let It Go" of Frozen II. Slate argues that the song was "engineered to deliver the same euphoria of internal struggle followed by cathartic release." The Daily Telegraph suggested that it had the same catchy qualities as its predecessor but that time would tell if younger fans of the film would accept it as a hit. Accolades Academy Awards Golden Globe Awards Critics' Choice Movie Awards Charts Weekly charts Panic! at the Disco version | format = | recorded = 2019 | studio = | genre = Pop-rock | length = 3:14 | label = Walt Disney, Fueled by Ramen | writer = | composer = | lyricist = | producer = Jake Sinclair | prev_title = Hey Look Ma, I Made It | prev_year = 2019 | title = Into the Unknown | next_title = | next_year = | misc = }} }} Most dubbings played the English version, performed by Panic! at the Disco, over the end credits. However the song numbers 12 more versions in other languages. The Japanese and Korean versions opted for two female vocalists, while the version used for the Mandarin version made for China was sung by an ensemble. The Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions were all performed by Indian singer Nakul Abhyankar, who also dubbed Kristoff in Tamil and Telugu, and sang Weezer's version of Lost in the Woods into all three languages. Charts Weekly charts } | 13 |- ! scope="row"| US ''Rolling Stone'' Top 100 | 87 |} References Category:2019 singles Category:2019 songs Category:American songs Category:Idina Menzel songs Category:Panic! at the Disco songs Category:Kim Tae-yeon songs Category:Songs from animated films Category:Songs from Frozen II Category:Songs from Frozen (franchise) Category:Songs with feminist themes Category:Songs written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez Category:Songs written by Robert Lopez Category:Decca Records singles Category:Walt Disney Records singles Category:Song recordings produced by Babyface (musician) Category:Song recordings produced by Glen Ballard Category:Song recordings produced by Germaine Franco Category:Song recordings produced by David Foster Category:Aurora (singer) songs Category:Glassnote Records singles